Carter 2010b

Carter J, Blacker S, Wilkinson D, Bilzon J, Rayson M (2010). Risk factors for the development of training injuries during British Army initial training. Presented at the 2^nd International Congress of Pan-Arab Regional Group of Military Medicine 2010. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (Book of Abstracts, p156)

The Royal Air Force (RAF) have considered introducing Operational Fitness Tests (OFTs) to ensure that all personnel have the physical capabilities required to carry out core operational tasks whilst deployed.  Ideally, the OFTs will be administered to RAF personnel both on a regular basis and prior to deployment, but this may not be viable due to time constraints or restricted availability of equipment or facilities.  Alternatively, it may be more feasible to administer a gym-based battery of tests and predict performance on the OFTs.  PURPOSE:   To develop prediction models for OFT performance from gym-based fitness tests and anthropometric measurements.  METHOD:  One hundred and thirty seven RAF personnel (45 female) performed the OFT (single lift; sandbag carry; fire and manoeuvre; dig) and a battery of fitness tests, which included strength tests (hand grip, back extension, long jump, bicep curl), fitness tests (Multi Stage Fitness Test (MSFT), press ups, sit ups, sprint test) and anthropometric measurements (height, mass, hip girth, body fat, neck girth).  Multiple polynomial regression was used to predict RST performance.  RESULTS:  Participant physical characteristics were established from the gym tests (mean ± SD: age 31.7 ± 9.4 yrs; height 174.0 ± 8.8 cm; mass 77.5 ± 12.5 kg; maximal oxygen uptake 41 ± 11 ml.kg.^-1min^-1).  The highest correlations between the multiple gym-based fitness tests and the OFTs were moderate (r² = 0.33 to 0.71 and 95 % LOA = 31 % to 36 %). CONCLUSION:  The models may be of use as a screening tool for operational readiness, providing an indication of both the nature and volume of training needed.  However, the moderately poor limits of agreement (LOA) suggest that the models are on the margins of usability to predict OFT performance and they cannot be used with a high degree of predictive accuracy on an individual basis.

This work was sponsored by the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence (RAF).